The first American Indian Day was celebrated in May 1916 in New York. Red Fox James, a Blackfeet Indian, rode horseback from state to state, getting endorsements from 24 state governments, to have a day to honor American Indians. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed a joint congressional resolution designating November 1990 as “National American Indian Heritage Month.” Similar proclamations have been issued every year since 1994. This Facts for Features presents statistics for American Indians and Alaska Natives, as this is one of the six major Office of Management and Budget race categories.

Note: Unless otherwise specified, the statistics in the “Population” section refer to the population who reported a race alone or in combination with one or more other races.

Number of federally recognized American Indian reservations in 2012. All in all, excluding Hawaiian Home Lands, there are 630 American Indian and Alaska Native legal and statistical areas for which the Census Bureau provides statistics. Source: Census Bureau Geography Division <https://www.census.gov/geo/reference/gtc/gtc_aiannha.html>

Single-race American Indians and Alaska Natives 25 and older whose bachelor’s degree or higher was in science and engineering, or science and engineering-related fields in 2013. This compares with 43.7 percent for all people 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher. Source: 2013 American Community Survey <http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/12_1YR/C15010C>